Torch Recap

The flame is on its way to Buenos Aires. The closing ceremony was not televised. Mayor Newsom was just on the local media (KNTV NBC 11) explaining what happened.

When the bus with the Chinese delegation was stopped by the protesters this morning, along with the public walking down the middle of Embarcadero, the city police told the mayor that they couldn't guarantee public safety.

When the torch went into the warehouse and didn't emerge, it was because they were trying to decide if they could change the route our if they should cancel the event.

The mayor felt that protecting the runners was the most important task in making it a successful event. He felt that allowing peaceful demonstrations was also important to allow.

In fact, there were people in support of China as well as people protesting China over Tibet and its human rights violations. All were able to peacefully coexist in the same area with only a few arrests.

What is interesting is that the police never made a move to stop the people walking down the Embarcadero or to remove the protesters laying down in front of the bus. It raised suspicions that the entire thing was planned to not take place along the Embarcadero.

Here are my thoughts.

1. It was successful in that people were allowed to peacefully protest. That showed China that there isn't necessarily something to fear by allowing people to demonstrate. I doubt it will penetrate China's leaders, but they were exposed to peaceful demonstrations that didn't resort to violence. Once again the city has shown it can allow peaceful protests without violence.

2. It was a success for the torch bearers who were allowed to run through the city with the torch.

3. It was a success for the Olympics - the flame didn't go out.

4. It was a failure for San Franciscans. It was San Franciscans who paid for the police and planning to allow the Chinese to bring the torch here. It was San Franciscans who were denied the opportunity to see the torch, the opening and closing ceremonies. Only the truncated opening ceremony was allowed to be televised as planned. From that point on, the Mayor failed his public.

Mayor Newsom failed his task by failing to work with the media to allow us better coverage of the torch run, as well as adequate crowd control so the event could be held safely to allow the public to view the torch.

There are ways to work with the media to allow adequate coverage. You can have a shared camera feed in front of the runners. You can have them sign contracts to not report details until a certain point. All those and more tactics have been used to report in war. Why not use them here where public safety may require changes on the fly? Instead, there was chaotic coverage and no run-along cameras to show the torch runners up close. They have no decent record of their run.

San Francisco's Police Department has problems controlling crowds. Cities like New York can handle crowds without a problem, but San Francisco had to cancel Halloween in the Castro last year because the police couldn't or wouldn't employ adequate crowd control techniques used by others. The city would rather cancel events than learn to handle them.

If the police failure to keep the Embarcadero streets free of people wasn't preplanned, it only demonstrates the department's incompetence when it comes to crowds. It amazes me how we can have large demonstrations without problems, but can't handle crowds in small areas, such as at the closing ceremony.

It was a mixed bag today. Over all, the real losers are the Tibetans and San Franciscans who have to pay the tab for today's largely failed Olympic torch run.

Carrying a Torch for Tibet

I have to confess that although I don't care for China's occupation of Tibet, the cause just doesn't motivate me to march. I'm not all that excited about the Olympics in China, either. I have that American malaise: So far from me, So far from my mind.

So, it is with almost-bated breath that I will watch the news this afternoon to see how the Olympic torch run goes in San Francisco. I'm kind of rooting for the underdogs - the Tibetan protesters.

I thought about going down to watch the torch run, but in the end, it just doesn't seem worth the hassle of running the gauntlet of protesters that began assembling this morning. I probably won't even bother watching much of the Olympics later this year, either.

After all of the problems China has foisted on us - lead in children's toys, killer heparin, West Coast air pollution, and Mt. Everest-sized hubris about it all, who can be bothered to watch China brag about itself again?

There is such a thing as playing the bad boy successfully. But Mick Jagger, China ain't, and it never will be.

China so wants us to see the Olympics, see it in its glory, respect it. Power is not glory. The world has seen China and shrugged.

China thinks that it is a star. Instead it is a sad Norma Desmond. It plays to "...all those lovely people out there in the dark." But the audience gave it the go-by when Mao took over. Now it is the world's shop girl.

To paraphrase Joe's advice to Norma, there is nothing wrong with being who you are, unless you are trying to be who you are not. If you want to be a brutal ruler over billions, then be a brutal ruler over millions. Accept and glory in the world's scorn and derision. If you want to be the world's low-end manufacturer, then do so. Just don't get pissy when the world catches you killing people with illegal substitutions in the medicine to make more money.

If you are going to be evil, you can't expect love and respect from the world. You have to accept the consequences from the choices that you have made.

If China wants to trade in its rhinestone tiara for one with real diamonds, it needs to get serious about customer service and product quality. If your goods are shoddy and you refuse to satisfy your customer, well then, other third world countries are just ready and waiting to replace you in your customers' hearts. As quickly as the money came, it can go.

If you try to sweep the Himalayas under your store's carpet, eventually customers will trip on Everest. No one wants to shop in a dimly lit, unkempt shop when there are bright, clean shops around the corner.

So China is a world-sized bummer of a country. We should protest or do something about that. And, you know, I'm gonna get going any day now with doing something. No, really. Maybe.